'Agent Vinod' latest in a series of Hindi movies finding non-NRI audiences in America

A foreign spy enticed North American audiences into theatres this past weekend. No, it wasn't James Bond or Jason Bourne — we won't hear from them until later this year. It was India's Agent Vinod.

Agent Vinod, the latest Eros Films release, managed a respectable debut of $427,403 from 122 locations in the United States and Canada.

While that doesn't match recent Eros releases such as Agneepath and Ra.One, it still shows plenty of interest in North America for Indian cinema. Agneepath opened at 132 locations and Ra.One started out at 189 — both films had a clear advantage over Agent Vinod.

The Agent Vinod opening is impressive considering how dominant The Hunger Games was in North American markets. Lionsgate's juggernaut managed a whopping $152.3 million during its debut frame, overshadowing all other releases in the process.

"We are quite happy with the opening," says Ken Naz, CEO of Eros Films. "It has been enjoyed by the majority of audiences."

According to reports he received from theatres, Naz boasts that plenty of non-Indian filmgoers showed up to see the action extravaganza.

"The movie was mainly patronised by people who love Bollywood movies, and there are Americans and people from other countries around the world who love Bollywood movies," says Naz.

Agent Vinod's success is largely the result of an active marketing blitz on Facebook and Twitter. The official Agent Vinod page amassed more than 1,07,000 likes before opening in North America, and it has since added more than 13,000 to total over 1.2 lakh.

Comparatively, the official page for Battleship — a summer blockbuster aimed at mass audiences — has slightly more than 1.35 lakh likes.

Eros has wisely kept the Agent Vinod Facebook page lively even after the film's release by offering promotions to enthusiastic fans. This kind of strategy is good for cultivating positive feedback and encouraging new business.

The spy flick had a very strong opening day on Twitter with a total of 2,418 tweets. To put that into perspective, Cosmopolis — a new film starring buzzworthy Twilight alum Robert Pattinson — generated 3,560 tweets on the same day after releasing a very controversial new trailer.

The reach of Indian cinema in North America expands all the time. While Eros released Agent Vinod in plenty of theatres in New York and California, the film also found its way to Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina — not exactly states expected to be ripe territory for Hindi flicks.

The Galaxy Cinema in Cary, North Carolina is pleased with the performance of Agent Vinod. The similarities to established spy franchises have made the Eros release more commercially accessible.

"More customers who wouldn't normally come to see a Bollywood film have come to see Agent Vinod this time," says Alex Ladd, assistant manager of Galaxy Cinema.

The Galaxy Cinema is the only theatre within 90-100 miles of Cary, NC that plays Bollywood films. They serve the city's growing Indian population.

Films from India are more than holding their own against other exports. Compare the $2.5 million haul of Ra.One to the $3.2 million haul of Spain's The Skin I Live In — a film that benefited from the presence of Antonio Banderas, a more recognisable star in North America than Ra.One's Shah Rukh Khan — and it's clear that the relevance of Indian cinema is growing.

Based on its opening, Agent Vinod certainly has a shot at hitting the $1 million plateau in North America. It could rebound slightly in the weeks to come as the impact of The Hunger Games begins to die down a little bit.

So will we see more Agent Vinod in the future? Naz thinks so. "Based on the response we got from a lot of filmgoers there is definitely sequel potential. This movie was created with a franchise in mind, so we've been talking about it."